Extraction and activity of bromelain from pineapple

Salma omar. Ahmad Zaharudin Idrus and Omar Abdul Razak

Abstract

Bromelain (Ec. 3.4.22.4) is a proteolytic enzyme found in all species of genera "Bromeliaceae". As Malaysia produces greater than 250,000 tons of fresh pineapple annually, the possibility of utilising these pineapples as a source of proteolytic enzyme is being looked into. Trials were carried out on the extraction of bromelain frorn leaves, stalk,  skin, fruit and stem. Activity of the extracted bronielain was measured using milk clotting method. The effect of pH and salt on milk clotting activity was also studied. The result indicated that bromelain is present in fruit, stalk, leaves, skin and stem. The recovery rates of bromelain from fruit, stalk, skin and stem are 0.08%, 0.06% .0 075%, and 0.1 0.6% respectively.Very little bromelain was recovered from the leaves. Milk clotting activity of the stem bromelain (1000-5000 MCU) was higher than that of fiuit bromelain (500-900 MCU) at pH 4.6. pH has an effect on the milk clotting activity. Too acidic or slightly acidic resulted in a low milk clotting activity. The optimum pH for milk clotting activity is about 3.8. Salt was found to have an inhibitory effect on milk clotting activity of bromelain.

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